Premium
Knowledge Construction in Public Administration: A Discourse Analysis of Public Value
Author(s) -
Wallmeier Franziska,
Helmig Bernd,
Feeney Mary K.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
public administration review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.721
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1540-6210
pISSN - 0033-3352
DOI - 10.1111/puar.13005
Subject(s) - bureaucracy , coproduction , public value , value (mathematics) , sociology , social constructionism , corporate governance , accountability , public administration , democracy , field (mathematics) , strict constructionism , public relations , political science , social science , politics , economics , management , mathematics , machine learning , computer science , pure mathematics , law
Abstract Public administration is a relatively young field with a growing academic community. Against the background of enduring discussions about theory and increasing research output and diversification within the field, the authors apply the sociology of knowledge approach to discourse that combines discourse theories and a social constructionist tradition to the exemplary case of “public value” research. The authors scrutinize 50 articles from 12 journals over 18 years to trace the development of public value as a concept in public administration research. Drawing from this exemplary case, they develop propositions and propose a framework for knowledge construction that is uniquely characterized as public administration. From the anchor points of manageability, economization, and democratic accountability, the authors develop a framework for analyzing and investigating knowledge development in other concepts such as network governance, representative bureaucracy, and coproduction .